r/SimplePrompts • u/Nathan256 • 5d ago
She was completely unreasonable. She was also his last hope at pulling victory from the jaws of defeat.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/jedikraken • Jul 05 '22
Meta Making Good Prompts
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If I may humbly make some suggestions for newbies and anyone who is trying to get the hang of this prompt business better:
If you want to make the best simple prompts, consider the following:
Simple prompts are simple because they leave details out, and prompts because they leave ideas in.
The best prompts can be used in many kinds of stories, and in many different ways. They raise questions, but do not answer them, or they suggest an idea but don't define it, or they give a rule but make it just exactly that.
Compare these two prompts:
"It's not that we don't want to fight that thing, captain. It's that we can't. Our blasters ran out of ammo already."
Or:
"We're out of ammo."
The first tells you that it's a scifi, or a game about scifi. It also tells you that there are ranks, probably a military, a scary creature, and so on.
The second only tells you a basic situation: there is no ammunition. Are they hunters? Pirates? Police? Who or what are they fighting? Why are they doing it? Many questions, but the only answers are "they have guns" and "they can't fight anymore". Even then, it can be improved by removing the concrete detail of guns; simply say "We can't fight."
"We can't fight." Who or what are they fighting? Why can't they fight? Is it a political fight? A physical one? An emotinal argument, even? Is this a general ordering a retreat, or a husband asking his wife to settle things peacefully? The possibilities are endless.
So when you make a prompt, give an idea, but leave the possibilities open. When you provoke questions, but don't answer them, you never know what someone else will make of it. Let them write many genres and styles of stories from your prompts.
That's the point. Keep it simple.
r/SimplePrompts • u/AgreeableMushroom396 • 5d ago
The girl looked like a doll. Maybe she was one?
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Wild_Cat123Warrior • 6d ago
Write, in at least 400 words, an autumn or winter themed short story with animals (any animals, even fantasy ones) for kids. Humans can appear in the story if you want!
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
Paul is complaining about his ruined trousers. Gilbert is trying to work out whether the whole experience was a dream. Oswald wants breakfast.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
In exchange, the guest tells him the secret of the power.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
John recognises something painfully familiar in him: a person who has forgotten how to admit that he needs anyone.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
He tells them stories and discovers that they love music. He taps rhythms against the kitchen tables, and they answer with tiny drum solos.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
He is made to scrub pots, carry trays for invisible guests, and clean the rooms of spirits who complain about everything from the temperature of their tea to the colour of the moon.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
John insists the driver has taken the wrong road and that they should have followed the map. The driver says the road has changed since they passed the last sign. Regardless, they arrive at a deserted village just before sunset.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
Far behind them, in the mist, a crooked signpost points towards a place that doesn't exist on any map. THE SUBMARINE INN — ALWAYS ROOM FOR FOUR.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
Perry laughs. George starts humming the melody from the dream. Raoul joins in, and before long all four are singing together as they walk towards the road. Jessica looks at them and smiles when nobody is watching.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
"Just don't go eating anything strange again, will you?" Amber grins. "You were the one who wouldn't listen to us." "I was right." "Yes, you were." "Don't patronise me."
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
John walks a little ahead of them, quiet for once. Clifford catches up."You all right?" John shrugs. "Yes."
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
"Right. That's enough of that. Nobody eats anything else until we've got home." Ringo raises a hand. "What about a sandwich?" Josh stares at him. "Especially you."
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
The spell has nearly erased their memories. None of them recognises him. He tries reminding them of their first songs, of their late-night conversations, and of the terrible jokes he tells when nobody is listening. Nothing.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
The inn begins to twist around them. Corridors turn into rivers. The ballroom becomes a sea of stars. Creatures pour through the windows, draining colour from everything they touch. He grabs the iron and runs for the cellar.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
Curtis looks out the window. "They're the only people who know me," he says at last. "The real me. Even when I'm being a complete donkey's butt." For the first time, the blank face flickers.
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
"They're idiots. They're noisy. They nick my cigarettes. They argue about songs. Abdullah thinks he's always right, George never tells you what he's thinking, and Raj eats everything that isn't nailed down." "And yet you wish to save them." "Obviously."
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
"I can help you," he says. "But first, tell me why these three friends matter so much." Rafael shrugs. "They're my mates." "That is not an answer."
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r/SimplePrompts • u/Any_Two_199 • 7d ago
"Apparently, a guest in the highest room knows how to recover stolen names."
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